Administrative Qualities and Transferable Skills

I’ve been job hunting recently because I am relocating from Devon to Somerset, and I was rather hoping to get back into Libraries. Sadly I can’t wait for that piece of lightning to strike, and so I have decided to take all of my best skills and consider what I’m good at and how I can apply that to a job. Luckily for me, I was given an interview by the NHS for an Administrator role, and was successful. So I was thinking that I should get down on ‘paper’ for anyone considering a role like this, and going for an interview and looking for interview questions, what good administrative qualities might look like!

Attributes of a good Administrator:

Professional

Patient

Objective

Has integrity

Motivator

Good communication skills

Skilled in new & emerging technology

Positive body language

Apptitude for detail

Appitude for self development

Natural like of helping people

Balances priorities and has good organisation skills

Problem Solver

Mentor and enabler

Competent worker

Innovates using educational opportunities

Personal Resilience

Works autonomously & well within a team

Multi-tasker

Flexible approach to work

Uses reflective practice

Explores through discussion

Understanding of localised vernacular whilst maintaining ability to use laymans terms

Sensitivity where appropriate

Confidentiality where appropriate

Engenders trust

Works within corporate policies at all times

Interview questions:

When you’re preparing for your interview, think of the answers in terms of 500 word paragraphs or bullet point trigger words. Practice your answers ‘out loud’.

Tell me a bit about yourself?

Why do you want this job?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

What do you know about this role?

What developmental needs do you anticipate and how would you resolve these?

What do you consider to be the good qualities of an Administrator?

What would you consider to be one of your best achievements?

Can you give an example of when you’ve worked under pressure?

Can you give an example of when you were in a difficult situation and how you resolved it?

What can you bring to this role?

Do you have any questions?

Think about your transferable skills…

and finally, remember that the interviewer is anxious too – they are trying to fill a role with the right person. Take your notes into the interview with you, it shows that you’ve taken the time to prepare – this will be extremely helpful, especially when it comes to the questions you’ve prepared as they may have answered them already.

“thoughts from scarlettlibrarian…”

A history of saving Libraries

Why is it that we always seem
 to be fighting
 to save our Libraries when
 they're importance and
 place in the community
 has been evident since the
 days of the bibliothekai
 of the Library of Alexandria
 set up by the Ptolemaic kings at the end of
 the third century BC?

It’s time to address the history of saving Libraries, in order to try to better understand the fight, and why ultimately we should have confidence that Libraries will endure.

Preservation

Essentially when the Library of Alexandria was set up as a learning centre, it was to ensure that the teachings of Aristotle were preserved and preserved in a public rather than private collection which was the vogue of previous times.

Comprehensive Access

In 1627 French scholar Gabiel Naude published a modest Advice for Setting Up a Library where he wrote that there is nothing…’“that renders a Library more recommendable, than when every man finds in it that which he is looking for and cannot find anywhere else; therefore the perfect motto is, that there exists no book, however bad or badly reviewed, that my not be sought after in some future time by a certain reader.”‘*

‘After the Nazis began their looting and destruction of the Jewish libraries, the librarian in charge of the Sholem Aleichem Library in biala Podlaska decided to save the books by carting away, day after day, as many as he and a colleague could manage, even though he believed that very soon “there would be no readers lefts.” After tow weeks the holding had been moved to a secret attic, where they were discovered by the historian Tuvia Borzykowski long after the war ended…..it was an act of rescuing memory per se. The universe, the ancient cabbalists believed, is not contingent on our reading it; only on the possibility of our reading it.‘*

Enlightenment and Public Libraries

During the Renaissance Libraries in Europe became officially public (from 1609), but at this time, funding and endowing or building an institution was still the privilege of a benefactor not the community. In 1890 Andrew Carnegie asked rhetorically “What is the best gift which can be given to a community?” He went on to say that a free library is the priority, but sadly not everyone agreed. ‘In Britain, for instance, the truism that “a public library is essential for the welfare of a community” was not officially proclaimed until 1850, when the MP for Dumfries, William Ewart, forced a bill through Parliament establishing the right of every town to have a free public library.’*

Consequences

Manguel has written that often times a Library will diminish or disappear hardly without anyone noticing. an example he gives is in 2003 when the Anglo-American army stoody by while the National Archives, the Archaeological Museum and the National Library of Baghdad were ransacked and looted. ‘In a few hours, much of the earliest recorded history of humankind was lost to oblivion’.* He concludes that numerous volumes of manuscripts and medieval chronicles vanished despite the fact that they had escaped the pillage of Saddam Hussein’s henchmen.

So then, where there has been such an extraordinary and tremendous effort to build, maintain and fund libraries for a variety of reasons not in the least preservation of the history of humankind, is there now and for at least the last 10 years, a reason for them to be first in the economic splicing line from Government? I think that the likes of William Ewart, and even Thomas Carlyle would not be amused! What is interesting, and should predominantly inspire confidence is that, throughout the struggle and contention for Libraries, it is a fact that since the conception of the Library of Alexandria in the third century BC, Libraries have prevailed!

This is only a brief look at the history of saving Libraries, I will be taking another look into this soon. Part II to follow!

‘thoughts from scarlettlibrarian…’

Please see Voices for the Library for the latest information.

*Manguel,Alberto (2008) The Library at Night. Yale University Press, London.

What is it about books that matters?

Why do we keep books, spend money on books, and keep looking after them in libraries?

When I think of saving Libraries, I always think about how and why books captivate me.

Firstly I want to highlight an article by David Pearson, Guildhall Library, that was written up in the Cilip Rare Books and Collections Group Newsletter November 2012 issue:

What is it that’s worth flaunting?

‘Simultaneously, there is a growing interest in books as objects, as material culture, in asking what can be learnt from their physical characteristics. That is certainly observable in the academic activity around the history of the book. The growing interest in studies of marginalia and the history of reading is demonstrated through the quantity of new books published on these subjects. There is a growing development of the copy census as a methodology; looking at lots of copies and seeing what can be learnt from copy-specific evidence. Custodians of historic collections acknowledge that increasing numbers of researchers are coming to them interested not so much in the books as texts, but in the characteristics of particular copies or of collections. The growing numbers of web-based guides reflect this. That is my theme in Books as History’ 2008 (1)

So I want to just expand on what I believe David is referring to as ‘The value of books’.

Marginalia: Have you ever considered the uniqueness of scribbles and notes in the margins of books? As a Librarian I really should be dismissive of this as damage, however, in my heart, I have a real fascination for it. A previous reader, from a myriad of backgrounds, and what those comments reveal. A thousand different minds ‘seeing’ something different in the written text!

History of reading: ‘In the second century, and as a result of the Alexandreian summaries and collations, an epistemological rule for reading was firmly established, decreeing that “the most recent text replaces all previous ones, since it is supposed to contain them”.’ (2)

Copy-specific evidence: Book plate, Library stamps, or binding, can call be classed as copy-specific evidence about a particular book or its reader and/or owner.

Provenance: Not so different to marginalia, is the wonder of the provenance of a text. Consider an inscription, possibly one of the most famous ones is that of a young King Henry VIII, ”Thys Boke Is Myne Prince Henry” – in letters almost an inch high. This is becoming one of the most significant subjects in rare book collections – ‘Determining the previous history of a particular item now in the British Library can be important to researchers, for example when attempting to reconstruct the library of an historical figure or identify the authorship of manuscript annotations.’

It does seem that increasingly we are being seduced by the e-book…Kindles and the like are without doubt, a very handy tool for readers, and I am guilty as charged. However, I am also finding more and more fascination with having books, the object at hand and all of the animation of the senses that they bring. Help the British Library continue successfully with their book conservation work so that we may enjoy these unique editions throughout the century.

‘Every reader exists to ensure for a certain book a modest immortality. Reading is, in this sense, a ritual of rebirth.’ (2)

1. Pearson, D 2008 Books as History: 
the importance of books beyond their texts
London: British Library
2. Manguel, A 2006 The Library at Night: 
Yale University Press



"thoughts from scarlettlibrarian..."

Are we Informationists?

Are all Librarians Informationists?

Essentially the term was initially used to describe Medical Librarians who were individuals with extensive clinical expertise, acute familiarity with organizational structures and processes, as well as being information systems technical savvy.

There doesn’t seem to be one set educational pathway or formalized set of skills or knowledge for informationists. However, there does seem to be some diversity and evolution from the original definition outlined above taking place now. The evolution of the term can be found in other sectors e.g financial services, academia and research, governance and strategists. Although you may feel your expertise begets you this title, it only really refers to individuals with acute industry knowledge and the wherewithal to combine their librarianship with technical know-how.

So how does this compare to the Embedded librarian role?

~ Informationist: Librarianship + extensive research specialisation + formal education in sector e.g clinical
…it also extends to industry expertise, acute familiarity of organisational structure and processes

~ Embedded Librarian: Librarianship + extensive research specialisation + project involvement + partnerships
…embedded also means being a part of any outcomes

Based on this, my opinion is that not all librarians are Informationists, but a lot more of them are than we think! If we all plan to move forwards with librarianship as the century proceeds, it would be prudent to see where there are gaps that can be filled by such a role. Certainly I can see that being an Informationist would be a sustainable ‘librarian’ role for the future as we look to see where the skills set of the librarian can be used across different corporate and educational sectors.

Industry expertise and familiarity with organizational structures and processes would usually be the remit of management, and although the librarian or informationist can be a manager, it would be less effective to utilise their skills set in this way. That said, because the skills set does include basic librarianship knowledge i.e categorization, organisation, information retrieval, research, it does place them in the prime position to take this role, and to evolve it even further.

” thoughts from scarlettlibrarian”

Cataloguers and information management consultancy

Following on from my post about why cataloguers should manage the metadata revolution, it seems sensible to outline the reasons why “redundant” cataloguers are in prime place for information management consultancy.

On an every increasing basis, we are dealing with job description changes and task changes, however, we are all part of a working spectrum of facilitators in Knowledge Organization.

In an atmosphere of transition in the library sphere, it is prudent to count your skills up, and set them down on paper. And then once you have the crudentials all down, you are in a prime position to be an information consultant either in the corporate sector, or as an informationist in the book world.

Information consultants can:

• create and build classifications and categories, taxonomies and strategic links
• advise and create records management systems
• advise and create data exchange management and schema mappings
• advise on data warehousing
• create and become embedded librarianship within organisation

Consider the changing role of  cataloguers, and all the skills that they bring to library management. Some of them are explained by Lynn Dyer over on HVCats.

Exploring the skills of cataloguers, you will find a broad range of transferable knowledge essential to information management. I will be investigating those skills in a follow up.

In the meantime, reflect on your skills and what you can bring to 21st century librarianship or information consultancy; how we will curate and conserve the respositories of today so that they will not degrade or decay, or how we will make visible the hidden collections currently residing throughout our libraries for our next generation librarians and researchers.

‘thoughts from scarlettlibrarian’

Metadata team and information management part II, where did all the cataloguers go?

"The Library is a sphere whose exact center is any one of its hexagons
 and whose circumference
is inaccessible." 
~ Jorge Luis Borges, 
"The Library of Babel"

After doing a bit of catching up with the Library sphere, Super Librarians, and embedded librarianship, imagine how pleased I was as a founder member to discover all the initiatives over on HVCats: High Visibility Cataloguing. If you haven’t checked it out already (and you really should), then take a look here. Look no further than the RLUK (Research Library) report 2010 for an overwhelming argument for why cataloguers are not redundant and in fact should be first in line to save hidden collections. From those libraries who responded to this survey 2 years ago, there were over 13 million volumes uncatalogued, ergo inaccessible and hidden. With all the discussion surrounding rare books collections, conservation, and accessibility to materials, the question of retrospective cataloguing should still be on everyones lips.

RLUK findings:

• museums, public libraries and independent libraries have a higher proportion of collection which are invisible
• modern material is being added to backlogs
• Responders are interested in the retrospective cataloguing problem and exploring technical solutions for this

Cat23 for cataloguers as part of the solution:

Finding out what cataloguing actually involves and its core values.

• Helen Stein on the cat23 project
• the invisibility of the astounding wealth of hidden material of significant value for researchers and wider public
• prioritising material to be catalogued
• continual influx of modern material exascerbating the backlog issue
• technological advances and solutions

The second report in the UDC strand has been undertaken in collaboration with OCLC and will be released in January 2013.

‘thoughts from scarlettlibrarian’

What does ‘Embedded Librarian’ mean?

Over on LinkedIn there is a discussion about what the term ‘embedded librarian’ means, if anything at all! The consensus seems to be that it means a library or information professional working within a team (usually clinical?) outside of the library walls. I think there’s slightly more to it than that. I came across this term in some reading I was doing back in 2007/8 and tried to make sense of it without much success at that time.  However, I think there, it had got slightly confused with the term ‘blended librarian’ – meaning a blended skills set.

So I turn to Schumaker* who has written extensively on the subject. There is a willingness to lean towards the literal meaning of  ’an integral part to the whole’. I have chosen to call the post “what does ‘embedded librarian mean?” because I want to ask the question not only of the term itself, but also what it means to next generation Librarians.

Embedded Librarians, who are they?

Embedded librarian essentially to me, means partnerships. Instead of working outside of the  remit of the researcher, the student, the corporate group, it means having a partnership with, and being part of the outcomes. This is where ‘integral’ comes in. There is also a physical location element to this, and I have already mentioned the breaking down of the restriction of working within the Library walls. Integral is the key word, and this is significantly where this role differs and diversifies from the traditional reference work of a librarian.

Schumaker compares the two roles decidedly eloquently when he outlines the differences between traditional and embedded librarianship.

Responsive v. anticipatory

Individual customer v. Team of collaborators

Standardized v. Customized

Single transactions v. Ongoing Projects

Service v. Partnership

So, are you sitting there wondering if you may be an embedded librarian but you just don’t have the title? It is important to note that this may be a situation other than academic. For example, you may be a medical librarian. You may be an records archivist. You may be working within a school. If you are involved in projects, working within a team of collaborators, forming partnerships, taking responsibility for outcomes, then this may be you!

The Embedded Librarian: Innovative Strategies for Taking Knowledge Where It’s Needed

David Shumaker, published by Information Today Inc (16 July 2012)

Here is the first comprehensive survey of the growing practice of “embedded librarianship”—a strategic model for placing information professionals into partnerships with the individuals and working groups that depend upon their knowledge and expertise. David Shumaker looks at implementations in all types of organizations, identifies the characteristics of successful embedded librarians, and explains how information professionals in public, academic, school, medical, law, and other specialized library settings are using embedded librarianship principles to enhance their work and careers. – Waterstones

The thing about Embedded Librarians, is that they have an impact on professional and paraprofessional Librarians. This is where we have to return to the skills set needed across the board in the library sphere which I have talked about before.

Next Generation Librarians

Out there, in the big wide yonder, there are Librarians sans  qualification, doing a great job. These are usually referred to as ParaProfessionals. They are however, professional! These people, are the ones who will be picking up the slack and filling the gap left by the Embedded Librarian – the Librarian who no longer has the remit of dealing with enquiries, short reference questions, service issues, and ‘clerical’ type work. In his blog post for ‘Embedded Librarian’ entitled Para-Librarians and Embedded Librarians - Part 1, Schumaker goes on to say ‘that term “paraprofessional” is odd. In the legal profession, there are paralegals. In the medical profession, there are paramedics. So why do we not use the term paralibrarians? It turns out that “paralibrarian” isn’t a brand new word. In fact, it first appeared in print almost exactly 20 years ago, in an editorial by John Berry in the Nov. 1, 1992 Library Journal.’ He also goes on to say that what is ‘likely to occur is that paralibrarians will end up assuming greater responsibility for running that physical space we call the library.’ I think this is true as it is possible to see that a para-Librarian dealing with metadata, could indeed end up dealing with service desk enquiries, referencing issues and indeed search issues at service level. So we have to ask ourselves if this is a bad thing for the para-Librarian? I could see where this could cause some potential issues. In my experience the Acquisitions librarian, or the Metadata librarian may be an introverted “head down” type person who is solely focused on providing collection management on a theoretical level rather than a “shop floor” level. Is this a good thing? I would say not. One of the longest running problems with libraries is communication and the division between areas of responsibility. Fundamentally it is important to conjoin teams in any situation where each is essential to the whole. That issue is a huge topic, but what I find myself asking here, is that are these para-Librarians equipped to presume some of the role of the former Librarian who is now enjoying his or her new and challenging and progressive Embedded Librarian role? 

“Embedded librarianship is rapidly emerging as the defining role of special librarians, and David Shumaker’s seminal work is just the roadmap we need to understand this important new opportunity for information professionals.”

—Kim Dority, author,Rethinking Information Work

‘thoughts from scarlettlibrarian’